Sticks and Stones
by Exploded Pen
Summary: Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will scar me forever.


**000 Disclaimer, I don't own Atlantis in any way shape or form 000 **

**I wrote this in a half blind panic over getting my a-level results tomorrow, it's unbetaed.** **Hope you enjoy :) 000**

The first time he sees her she's wearing pyjamas, and he remembers thinking that a girl that generously sized should never be seen outside in stripy blue and pink shorts teamed with a pink t-shirt. Her hair is dark brown, so dark in fact he's tempted to say its black, but then he sees it catch the light from one of the houses and realises its copper, red, blonde, a whole mesh of colours that irresistibly blend together. But it's her eyes, an intense blue stare that keeps him from immediately dismissing her. The stare draws him in so much so that he realises he's taken another step towards her, head tilted to hold her stare as she surveys him from her perch in the old tree.

"Finished gawking?" she asks, pleasant enough but there's something guarded in the way she draws her legs up beneath her.

"Why are you wearing pyjamas outside?" he asks stupidly, at a loss for anything else to say, something that doesn't happen often.

She shrugs. "Why not?" The intense stare relaxes somewhat. "I can't go back inside yet."

"Oh." He finally tears his eyes away from hers to quickly glance back at his own home where he can hear his parents arguing.

She cocks her head to one side listening intently. "Neither can you by the sounds of it." Her stare becomes intense again and he gets the odd sensation like he's being judged. Finally she smiles, an easy open smile and with surprising grace drops down from the tree.

"You're out of your tree," he blurts out then immediately berates himself mentally wondering where his social skills - admittedly lacking at the best of times - have gone.

She laughs and for a moment the sound drowns out the shouting coming from within his home. "Shall we walk?"

He blinks and gazes at this obviously mad girl before finding himself once again drawn irresistibly into her gaze. "Ok."

"Do you want to let your family know?" she asks, almost hesitant, glancing over at his house.

"Do you?" He counters wincing at how harsh his tone sounds.

"Not till things stop breaking," she says lightly.

Without waiting for him she starts walking, he can see her feet are bare yet she's not even bothering to look at the pavement. He hurries to catch up and falls into step beside her. Under the harsh light of the street lamp he can see grazes on her skin - presumably from the tree she climbed - but they don't seem to be bothering her.

"I've seen you around before with your sister," she says after a pause, and for once he can actually hear the unspoken question 'where is she?'

"She's staying over at a friends," he says trying not to sound as defensive as he feels, wondering why it feels so important right now to let this strange creature know he's not a bad brother. "I wouldn't have left her."

She pauses and stares at him again, studying him, judging him. "Not yet," she smiles gently. "But everyone leaves in the end."

He shudders feeling a sudden chill pass through him, he shouldn't be here, he shouldn't be walking with her but he can't help himself.

They start walking again, his shoes clomping heavily against the pavement and her bare feet moving soundlessly.

"I see the other kids taunting you, because you're smart...different."

"It's fine," he says instantly crossing his arms defensively. "They're just mucking around. It's our thing, it's what we do." He can't lie, couldn't do it to save his life and he knows she can see right through it. "I don't see you around school."

"I'm there," she says carefully and there's an undertone to her words that he just can't decipher. "But if people don't see me they can't taunt me." She smiles ruefully. "It helps to be invisible."

"I can see you," he points out, all the while straining his memory searching for this odd girl and finally finds her stood to one side not even registering as he brushes past her.

"Not usually," she shrugs. "No point being alone while we wait to go inside." A hesitant smile crosses her face. "Besides you know what it's like."

He blinks and pauses for a step before hurrying to fall back into pace with her. "Its fine, I told you. Me and the guys... it's our thing. Stick and stones and all that."

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will scar me forever," she quotes softly. "But I didn't mean that, I meant ..." she gestures back towards his house. "I hear things, you must too."

He instantly shakes his head, he's gotten too good at selective hearing over the years to pay any heed to the curious thumps and muffled yells from next door, indeed it's so good he can almost drown out the sound of his parents yelling. Almost.

They walk along in silence. He likes silence, gives him chance to think and he firmly believes that a good 80 of the time silence should only be broken by the sound of his own voice telling the world something magnificent or ranting about the stupidity of people in general.

He glances at her again and he remembers his own sometimes intense pangs of loneliness and wonders whether she feels it too. "You should, umm, let people see you, you know." He hates how hesitant he sounds, hates his own inability to deal with people. "Less...lonely."

She gives him that judgemental look again and once more he finds himself caught up in her gaze. Eventually she smiles and for some reason he can't help feeling relieved. They continue walking and before long he finds himself stood at the end of his driveway. The house is silent now.

"Safe to go inside," she says lightly. She smiles again and squeezes his hand gently before returning to her own home.

He stares at his hand like he's never seen it before, an unfamiliar swooping sensation settling in the pit of his stomach. He allows himself the barest of smiles then reluctantly goes back inside his home.

-------

The second time he sees her at school, and for a split second finds himself caught up in staring at her before realising others are doing the same. Except unlike him they aren't remaining silent and he can see the look of barely masked pain on her face. He winces in sympathy as he hears the taunts and jibes from the others but at the same time hates himself for being unable to step forward and defend her too afraid of becoming the next target. Yet even so he suddenly finds himself moving, almost stumbling down the corridor trying to find her. Even though he's gazing at every person intently he almost misses her like she's on the edge of his awareness hiding in the shadow of the lockers.

She locks gaze with him and gives him a watery smile. "Sticks and stones," she whispers softly, "sticks and stones."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't," he fumbles for words his hands gesturing helplessly.

She seems to understand and her smile becomes sad. "I know," she says patting his arm gently. "I never could either."

At that point, for reasons he cannot even begin to explain to himself, he loves her truly and deeply, all the while hating himself more for not standing up in her defence - for never seeing her before.

A fresh pat to the arm and she hurries away melding into the crowd of students. He considers following her a moment before fresh taunts to his right catches his attention and he realises that he's become the new target anyway.

The third time happens when he hears the muffling sound of yelling coming from next door and peers out his window wondering if she's gone back to her tree to wait out the fight.

She's there but she jerks in shock before relaxing with a look of recognition. She waves to him and settles back in her tree.

He waves back feeling horribly awkward, half wonders if he'll fall out the window by accident. Then the front door of her house slams open. He can hear it reverberate across the street and he watches as a middle-aged man storms across to the tree and yells at her with a vicious intensity that makes him almost withdraw into the safety of his room.

He watches as she takes in the yelling with a calm resignation that makes him want to help her but his voice sticks in his throat. He watches as the man yanks her roughly down from the tree, she falls and lands with a sharp cry.

"Hey!" he yells, suddenly finding his voice. "Leave her alone!"

The man doesn't even look up and he realises too late that the words he thought he yelled had come out as a mere whisper. He watches helplessly as she's dragged into the house his eyes caught in her gaze before she disappears from sight.

The fourth time he sees her he's coming back from the shop with his sister bounding along at his side babbling on excitedly about everything and anything.

She's stood on the lawn an unfamiliar woman in official looking clothes stood at her side watching impassively as the man who dragged her from her tree is forced into a police car by an unrepentant policeman.

His sister tugs anxiously at his sleeve but his feet refuse to move.

She sees him and catches his gaze with that intense stare that caught his eye the first time he saw her. She smiles ruefully and breaks away from the woman at her side, approaching him cautiously not even bothering to glance at the police car.

"What happened?" he asks, clutching at his sisters anxious hand.

She shrugs lightly.

"You're leaving," he states bluntly.

"Everyone leaves in the end," she says softly.

She smiles and locks gaze with him one final time before the woman gently pulls her away.

He watches her leave a hollow feeling settling in his gut and walks into his house his little sister in tow.

It's only later he wonders how he can miss someone who he's spent barely an hour with in total.

It's only later that he suddenly develops a love of blondes with short hair because looking at a brunette leaves him with a feeling of loss he can't explain.

It's only later he realises he never even knew her name.

**000 Reviews are very welcome :) 000**


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